Field of the Invention
The specification generally relates to panoramic stitching based on a sequence of images using objects. In particular, the specification relates to a system and method for matching pairs of adjacent images in the sequence of images, matching corresponding objects in adjacent images, and determining a relationship between all the images and objects.
Description of the Background Art
A planogram is a visual representation of products in a retail environment. For example, a planogram may describe where in the retail environment and in what quantity products should be located. Such planograms are known to be effective tools for increasing sales, managing inventory and otherwise ensuring that the desired quantity and sizes of an item are placed to optimize profits or other parameters. However, presentation and maintenance of adequate levels of stock on shelves, racks and display stands is a labor-intensive effort, thereby making enforcement of planograms difficult. While the location and quantity of products in retail stores can be manually tracked by a user, attempts are being made to automatically recognize the products and automatically or semi-automatically obtain information about the state of products.
Previous attempts at recognizing products have deficiencies. For example, one method to achieve the goal of recognizing multiple products from multiple images is through image stitching. Unfortunately, existing image stitching techniques can lead to artifacts including misalignment and can interfere with the optimal operation of recognition.